A New York nanny is being hailed a hero after she saved a 1-year-old boy under her care before she was fatally hit by a truck, the New York Daily News reports.
The woman, 52-year-old Arcellie “Celi” Muschamp, had been in a medically induced coma following the crash on December 20. She died Friday.
Witnesses say the driver of a truck struck Muschamp while she was pushing a stroller across the street at the intersection of Union Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, according to the news outlet.
Emergency crews responded to the scene at about 10:40 a.m. There are conflicting reports about Muschamp’s condition after the crash. Some witnesses say she was unconscious, while others say she appeared to have awoken by the time an ambulance had arrived, Brooklyn Paper reports.
She was bleeding severely from her head. The child was not physically injured.
Witnesses report that the 68-year-old driver of the Dodge Ram pick-up truck struck Muschamp while he was turning onto Union Street, but that he failed to stop for pedestrians within the crosswalk, according to Brooklyn Paper.
Medics who responded to the scene rushed Muschamp to the hospital, where doctors performed emergency brain surgery.
Patrick Mullen, whose son Muschamp saved, said she was the child’s “guardian angel.”
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“Sadly, Celi was unable to survive the injuries and she passed away earlier today surrounded by love, comfort and family,” Mullen wrote on a GoFundMe page raising money to help cover Muschamp’s medical expenses. “My wife and I will forever consider her the guardian angel of our son Rowan, whom she saved through her actions and sacrifice.”
“Our son Rowan was amazingly unscathed in the incident and based on eyewitness accounts Celi helped save him from almost-certain serious injury or death by pushing his stroller out of harm’s way as the vehicle approached,” Mullen added.
The GoFundMe page had raised nearly $80,000 as of Sunday morning.
Muschamp, who emigrated from Belize, was a compassionate and giving person, according to her daughter, Rahzel Muschamp.
“My mom was the most selfless person ever and that shows with her actions,” Rahzel Muschamp told the Daily News. “She truly loved the kids she looked after.
“I had a chance to look at her cell phone recently and I looked at her pictures and 60 percent of them were of the child she was caring for. That shows she loved these kids so much.”
Muschamp’s brother Tito told the news outlet his sister had recently come home because their mother had died.
“My lovely sis was just here last month to lay our mom to rest and now she is gone too,” Tito wrote on Facebook, according to the Daily News. “Today is another sad day for our family. You died a hero sis. You will never be forgotten.”
Authorities say the truck driver stayed at the scene of the crash; charges have not been filed, according to the newspaper.
Rahzel Muschamp told the Daily News that she believes the driver should be held accountable.
“Everyone wants justice,” Rahzel Muschamp told the newspaper. “It’s hard to fathom that someone will get away with killing someone. This can’t be something someone could get away with.”
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[Feature Photo: Arcellie “Celi” Muschamp/GoFundMe]
